The 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was a motor racing competition for Group C Touring Cars.[1] The Championship was authorised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as an Australian National Title.[1] It was the 25th Australian Touring Car Championship,[2] and the last to be contested by Group C cars as new regulations,[2] based on international Group A,[3] were introduced for 1985.[2]
The championship, which began on 18 February 1984 at Sandown Raceway and ended on 1 July at Adelaide International Raceway after seven rounds, was won by Dick Johnson driving a Ford XE Falcon.
Season summary
edit
Johnson's win gave Ford and its Falcon both the first and last ATCC wins under Group C regulations as Allan Moffat won the 1973 ATCC in a Falcon XY GTHO Phase III.[4] The win was also Ford's 12th ATCC win since the championship began in 1960 and the Falcon's 6th win overall after having previously won in 1973, 1976, 1977 (all Moffat), 1981 and 1982 (both Johnson). Given that a Falcon did not contest the championship from 1985 to 1992, it was also the last championship win for a Falcon driver until 1993.
1984 saw the first ever ATCC race win by a turbocharged car when George Fury won the 6th round at a wet Lakeside Raceway just north of Brisbane driving a Nissan Bluebird Turbo.
Peter Brock, driving a Marlboro Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Commodore, was the only driver to win more than once, with victories in the opening rounds at Sandown and Symmons Plains. Johnson's only win in the series was at the 4th round at Surfers Paradise, though he never finished lower than 3rd in any other round. Allan Grice won the last round at Adelaide (his last ever ATCC race win), and thus the distinction of winning the last ATCC race run under Group C rules. Defending champion Allan Moffat only won one round of the series, at Wanneroo Park, and suffered a crash at Surfers Paradise in which he not only wrote off his Mazda RX-7, but also broke bones in his right hand and suffered a fractured sternum, forcing him out of the series (in fact, Moffat would not appear in another ATCC race until round 4 of the 1988 series at Wanneroo). The only other winner was former champion Bob Morris who introduced some flavour to the series when he made a comeback to the sport in 1984, winning Round 5 at Oran Park in an RX-7 fitted with a standard gearbox after the team's only race unit was broken in practice. Holden Commodore driver Warren Cullen finished 4th in the championship and was the only driver other than Dick Johnson to finish every round of the series.
Unfortunately for the final ATCC run under the local Group C rules, with the exception of Dick Johnson, Jim Richards contesting his first ATCC in his JPS Team BMW 635 CSi, Warren Cullen's two car Commodore team backed by K-Mart with new teammate Andrew Harris in his 1982 and 1983 Bathurst winning ex-HDT Commodore, and 1983 Australian Endurance Champion Peter McLeod in his Slick 50 Mazda RX-7, the series was devoid of many of its big name drivers from mid-season. Peter Brock missed both Queensland rounds due to his commitment to race a Porsche 956 with his Bathurst winning co-driver Larry Perkins at the 1000 km of Silverstone and 24 Hours of Le Mans races and was substituted in both races by teammate John Harvey having his first ATCC drive since 1979. After the Roadways Racing team lost their STP sponsorship (though still running a single car for Steve Harrington), Allan Grice struggled to find enough sponsorship other than SAAS Wheels to run his rented Roadways Commodore for the entire series and missed most of the mid-season rounds, during which time he drove the ex-Bob Jane DeKon Chevrolet Monza (now owned by Re-Car's Allan Browne) on his way to winning the Australian GT Championship, and he also drove at Le Mans in a Porsche 956 (he also joined the television commentary team for Surfers Paradise). George Fury was also missing mid-season when Nissan team boss Howard Marsden decided to concentrate on car development following a couple of non-finishes, while reigning champion Moffat missed the last three rounds of the series through injury.
The 1984 ATCC saw the ABC televise each round of the series live throughout Australia. It was the first time that one television station had covered the entire series, previously the ABC and Channel 7 had shared the broadcast rights. It would be the last time the ABC covered the ATCC as Seven took over from 1985 when the locally developed Group C rules were replaced by the FIA's International Group A touring car regulations. The commentators for the ABC telecasts were Will Hagon and John Smailes with Tim Lane, Neil Crompton, Bob Vincent, Bob Morris and Allan Grice joining them at selected rounds.
Teams and drivers
editThe following teams and drivers competed in the 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship.
| Team | Car | No | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masterton Homes | Ford XE Falcon | 2 |  Steve Masterton
|
| Cadbury-Schweppes Racing | Holden VH Commodore | 3 | David Parsons
|
| Roadways Racing | Holden VH Commodore | 4 | Steve Harrington
|
| 6 | Allan Grice
| ||
| Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | Holden VH Commodore | 05 | Peter Brock John Harvey
|
| K-Mart Auto Racing | Holden VH Commodore | 8 | Warren Cullen
|
| 9 | Andrew Harris
| ||
| John Sands Racing | Holden VH Commodore | 10 | Rusty French
|
| State Building Society/Rolfen | Mazda RX-7 | 10 | Bob Morris
|
| Garry Willmington Performance | Ford XD Falcon | 11 | Garry Willmington
|
| Jim Keogh | Holden VH Commodore | 12 | Jim Keogh
|
| Bob Holden Motors [5] | Ford Escort Mk.II | 14 | Lyndon Arnel
|
| John English | Ford XD Falcon | 14 | John English
|
| Repco Accessories | Holden VH Commodore | 14 | Terry Finnigan
|
| Nissan Motor Company | Nissan Bluebird Turbo | 15 | George Fury
|
| 16 | Gary Scott
| ||
| Palmer Tube Mills | Ford XE Falcon | 17 | Dick Johnson
|
| Valentine Greetings [5] | Mazda RX-7 | 18 | Murray Carter
|
| Rob Collins | Mazda RX-7 | 19 | Rob Collins
|
| David Cox | Mazda RX-7 | 19 | David Cox
|
| Lusty Engineering | Holden VH Commodore | 21 | John Lusty
|
| PF Motor Racing | Chevrolet Camaro Z28 | 22 | Bryan Thompson
|
| Everlast Battery Service | Ford XD Falcon | 26 | Bill O'Brien
|
| Alf Grant | Ford XD Falcon | 27 | Alf Grant
|
| Brian Bolwell | Ford Escort Mk.II | 28 | Brian Bolwell
|
| Bayside Spares | Holden VH Commodore | 28 | Barry Lawrence
|
| Paul Jones | Ford XE Falcon | 29 | Paul Jones
|
| JPS Team BMW | BMW 635CSi | 31 |  Jim Richards
|
| Chris Clearihan | Mazda RX-7 | 32 | Chris Clearihan
|
| Mike Burgmann | Mazda RX-7 | 33 | Mike Burgmann
|
| Murray Coote | Mazda 323 | 37 | Murray Coote
|
| Bernie Stack | Holden VH Commodore | 38 | Bernie Stack
|
| John Bundy | Mazda RX-7 | 39 | John Bundy
|
| King George Tavern | Ford XE Falcon | 40 | Joe Moore
|
| Allan Moffat Racing[5] | Mazda RX-7 | 43 |  Allan Moffat
|
| Bryan Byrt Ford | Ford Capri Mk.III | 44 | Craig Harris
|
| Gary Hinton | Holden VH Commodore | 45 | Gary Hinton Lester Smerdon
|
| Dean Lindstrom | Mazda RX-7 | 47 | Dean Lindstrom
|
| John Donnelly | Ford XD Falcon | 49 | Simon Harrex |
| Martin Power | Triumph Dolomite Sprint | 49 | Martin Power
|
| Petrolon Slick 50 Racing | Mazda RX-7 | 50 | Peter McLeod
|
| David Grose | Mazda RX-7 | 52 | David Grose |
| Swiss Motors | Mazda RX-7 | 53 | Ernie Carniello
|
| Barry Seton | Ford Capri Mk.III | 55 | Glenn Seton
|
| Jim Myhill | Mazda RX-7 | 57 | Jim Myhill
|
| Lawrie Nelson | Ford Capri Mk.III | 59 | Lawrie Nelson
|
| Country Dealer Team [5] | Isuzu Gemini PF60[5] | 60 [5] | Dennis Horley [5]
|
| Les Ski Racing | Isuzu Gemini | 61 | Les Szreniawski
|
| Peter Brierley | Holden VH Commodore SS | 62 | Peter Brierley
|
| John White | Isuzu Gemini ZZ[5] | 65 | John White
|
| Ian Burrell | Mitsubishi Colt | 66 | Ian Burrell
|
| Fred Geissler | Holden VH Commodore | 66 | Fred Geissler
|
| Alexandra Surplice | Toyota Corolla Levin | 67 | Alexandra Surplice |
| Lyndon Arnel | Ford Escort Mk.II | 68 | Lyndon Arnel
|
| Don Smith | Ford Capri Mk.III | 69 | Don Smith
|
| Bayswater Automotor Wreckers [5] | Holden VH Commodore | 70 | Colin Campbell
|
| Bob Holden Motors | Toyota Celica | 73 | Bob Holden
|
| Garry McGrath | Ford Escort Mk.II | 77 | Garry McGrath
|
| Clynton Arentz | Ford Escort Mk.II | 79 | Clynton Arentz |
| Ken Harrison | Ford Escort Mk.II | 80 | Ken Harrison
|
| Russell Worthington | Mazda 626 | 100 | Russell Worthington
|
Race calendar
editThe 1984 Australian Touring Car Championship was contested over a seven-round series with one race per round.
| Rd. | Race title | Circuit | City / state | Date | Winner | Team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandown | Sandown International Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 18 February | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | [6] |
| 2 | Symmons Plains | Symmons Plains Raceway | Launceston, Tasmania | 11 March | Peter Brock | Marlboro Holden Dealer Team | |
| 3 | Wanneroo | Wanneroo Park Raceway[7] | Perth, Western Australia | 1 April | Allan Moffat | Peter Stuyvesant International Racing | |
| 4 | Surfers Paradise | Surfers Paradise International Raceway | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 13 May | Dick Johnson | Palmer Tube Mills | [8] |
| 5 | The Castrol Flying Fifty[9] | Oran Park Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 27 May | Bob Morris | Barry Jones | [10] |
| 6 | Lakeside | Lakeside International Raceway | Brisbane, Queensland | 17 June | George Fury | Nissan Motor Co | |
| 7 | Motorcraft 100[11] | Adelaide International Raceway | Adelaide, South Australia | 1 July | Allan Grice | Roadways Racing | [12] |
Points system
editCars competed in two engine displacement classes, "up to and including 3000cc" and "3001-6000cc".[1]
Points were awarded for the first twenty outright places in each round using a two tier system as shown in the following table.[1]
The 3001-6000cc class was made up of BMW 635 CSi, Chevrolet Camaro Z28, Ford XD Falcon, Ford XE Falcon, Holden VH Commodore, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan Bluebird Turbo.
Up to and including 3000cc consisted of Ford Capri Mk.III, Ford Escort Mk.II, Isuzu Gemini, Mazda 323, Mazda 626, Mitsubishi Colt, Toyota Celica and Triumph Dolomite Sprint
| Outright position[1] | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
| Points if up to 3000cc[1] | 30 | 27 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Points if 3001-6000cc[1] | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Points from the best six round results only could be retained by each driver.[1]
Championship standings
edit
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References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Conditions for Australian Titles, 1984 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 88–93
- ^ a b c d e f Graham Howard, Stewart Wilson & David Greenhalgh, 1984 - Bye bye big bangers, The official history - Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years, 2011, pages 244–253
- ^ Touring Cars, 1985 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, pages 300–303
- ^ 2004 V8 Supercars TV Guide
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Official Program, Sandown, February 18–19, 1984
- ^ 1984 ATCC Rd.1
- ^ Official Programme, Wanneroo Park Raceway, Sunday 1 April 1984 Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.terrywalkersplace.com on 7 July 2009
- ^ 1984 ATCC Rd.4
- ^ "1984 ATCC". The Programme Covers Project. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ 1984 ATCC Rd.5
- ^ Official Programme, Motorcraft 100, Adelaide International Raceway, Sunday 1 July 1984
- ^ 1984 ATCC Rd.7
